Emptying apparatus for a silo

Abstract

An emptying apparatus for removing the last contents of a silo includes an elevated floor supported by at least two support members above the bottom of the silo. The support members form at least one ventilating channel under the elevated floor. The elevated floor has a flat section for supporting at least two upper sheets, and at least one rib member disposed above the elevated floor and defining at least one emptying channel for emptying the contents of the silo. The flat section of the elevated floor has at least one transverse slit which connects the ventilating channel with the emptying channel. One of the upper sheets is disposed above the transverse slit and the flat section and overlaps another upper sheet to form a slit between them. The extent of overlap of the overlapping sheet is greater than the slide ramp of the silo product located to the right of the slit between the two sheets, such that the product particle cannot easily back up in the slit and drop through the transverse slit in the flat section to the ventilating channel below. An emptying spout connects the emptying channel to an evacuation duct which is disposed in a pressurized air distribution channel. The distribution channel is pressurized by a fan. Each of the upper sheets is of substantially trapezoidal shape and has along its wide base a downward lip and along its narrow base an upward lip, each lip being provided with oblong orifices. The total cross-sectional area of the oblong orifices is approximately one half the total cross-sectional area of the corresponding ventilating channel. The total cross-sectional area of the ventilating channel is approximately one half that of the ventilating exit. A plurality of ventilating channels and emptying channels can be provided.

I claim: 
     
       1. An emptying apparatus for a silo with a bottom, said apparatus comprising: (a) a floor located above said silo bottom, said floor comprising a plurality of hollow ribs, adjacent hollow ribs being connected by a plurality of overlapping sheets, adjacent overlapping sheets being separated by individual slits, a plurality of ventilating channels located directly above the bottom of the silo, each of said ventilating channels being defined by said silo bottom, a first wing extending downwardly from a respective rib to the bottom of said silo, one of said ribs, and a second wing extending downwardly from an adjacent rib, each of said ventilating channels opening into a single canal which is pressurized by a blower, a shutter being associated with each of said channels and comprising means for selectively obturating an orifice located at one end of each said ventilating channel, each of said ribs having an upper portion which forms, in combination with a set of said overlapping sheets, an emptying channel which opens into an evacuation duct located within said canal, each of said emptying channels being fluidically connected to said evacuation duct by a spout.   
     
     
       2. An emptying apparatus for a silo in accordance with claim 1 wherein each of said sheets has a generally trapezoidal configuration and along its longest side comprises a portion which is curved downwardly, and along its shortest side, a portion which is curved upwardly, each of said curved portions having oblong orifices therein, the width of each of said orifices being less than the diameter of grain located within said silo, each of said sheets having a lower edge, the lower edge of each of said sheets resting on an adjacent sheet positioned beneath it. 
     
     
       3. An emptying apparatus for a silo in accordance with claim 2 wherein the total section of said oblong orifices is approximately equal to half of the section of a single corresponding ventilating channel. 
     
     
       4. An emptying apparatus for a silo in accordance with claim 1 wherein each of said ribs is supported by two wings, one of said wings having orifices with a total section greater than the section of one of said ventilating channels. 
     
     
       5. An emptying apparatus for a silo in accordance with claim 1 wherein said ventilating channel is pressurized by a fan. 
     
     
       6. A silo emtpying apparatus in accordance with claim 1, said evacuation duct including a conveyor. 
     
     
       7. A silo emptying apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein each of said ventilating channels is substantially in the shape of an inverted V-configuration.